Both Sides Now
by LadyRiverwolf
Summary: Liper bromance; I love it. This story addresses Piper's relationship with Leo and Jason. It starts out in the bunker, and moves out into the woods... "It's Capture-The-Flag tonight." [...] "Okay, it's a deal, McLean. Let's go beat up your boyfriend." 'Family' genre because they're practically siblings in my head. Please R&R. ((Cover by Bichol.))
1. Chapter 1

"I've looked at love from both sides now  
From give and take, and still somehow  
It's love's illusions I recall;  
I really don't know love at all."  
~Both sides now, Joni Mitchell

_Liper is my BroTP. That is all._

_Soooo… this is the first time I've so much as touched the Romantic genre with a barge pole. XD_

_I had the lyrics stuck in my head all the while during the creation of this. Basically, take the "both sides" of love as the sibling-y/platonic side and the romantic side. Other than that, I hope it's fairly self-explanatory. From Leo's perspective (later), but it's Piper's PoV at the start._

_I dedicate this to the wonderful Daizels (Admin Piper on Percy Jackson Fanclub on Facebook, where I'm Arrow). My epic Liper friend. :)_

_Piper's kind of based on me – hence the fussiness; that's just how she's developed in my head. I hope she's still in-character._

_There are shed-loads of fandom references in here; have fun._

_Edit: I finally fixed the spacing (it was annoying me). I hope it's better now. :)_

"Bienvenida, Beauty Queen." Leo called, without turning around from the in-progress Argo II's control panel, "¿Cómo te va?" Piper blinked,

"Say what?" He laughed,

"Lower School Spanish wasn't wasted on you, was it? '¿Cómo te va?' is like 'what's happening?', or 'how's it going?'"

"Ah…" She nodded, "one of these days I'm going to start carrying a Spanish phrase book around with me. In answer to the original question, I'm good. Miniature dramas in Cabin 10, but nobody died."

"Yet," he said darkly, then turned. "Jeez, Beauty Queen, you were saying about nobody dying?"

"Hey!" she protested, putting whatever she was carrying down, sitting herself on one of the work benches and throwing at him the first thing that came to hand – a paint tin lid. He ducked and narrowly avoided a beheading.

"Well," he said reasonably, "we are very sorry to report the tragic passing of Piper's straight hair. Any details as to the cause of death?"

"Lacy. Mitchell. Drew. Red hot irons – sorry, hair curlers. Time of death approximately 6:30am."

"Harsh. Team Barbie not too big on the whole beauty sleep concept?"

"No comment." She thought for a minute, "actually, scrap that. A) Make another reference to the B word, and I will find something far more deadly to throw at you, and B) apparently early mornings are good for the complexion." He bowed,

"And you look positively radiant, dear." She resisted the urge to throw something else at him. Instead, she jumped down from the worktable and went to see what he was doing.

"You missed lunch."

"And?"

"Good time for a lunch break?"

"Meh. This dubstep soundboard isn't going to rewire itself." She raised an eyebrow,

"Dubstep soundb-? You know what? I'm not even going to ask."

"Probably wise."

"However, back to the point. You are, in fact, half an hour ahead of schedule." He looked confused,

"How did you..?" She grinned.

"Psychic. Do you like my oracle?" She tapped the timetable taped to the wall. He cursed in Spanish. "I knew having that taped up was a bad idea."

"Don't argue with a Charmspeaker, Leo. Lost cause." He muttered assent, and she smiled sweetly at him. "Does this mean I win?"

He gave her a look, "You never win."

"Lies."

"I know," he explained, "but I'm not going to admit that, am I?" They looked at each other, then cracked up laughing. It wasn't all that funny, but they were both over-tired. She looped her arm through his and led him over to a corner that looked relatively clear of deadly weaponry – not easy to find at Camp, never mind in Bunker Nine – ignoring his half-hearted protests. She pushed him against the wall and put her weight on his shoulder, forcing him to the ground.

"Sit," she told him with mock-severity, "Stay. Good Leo." He glanced up at her, sitting cross-legged with his back to the wall.

"Well, I'm not even sure how to reply to that. You're quite cruel when you're that way inclined, Beauty Queen. All the pretty girls turn out to be psychos – it's one of life's great tragedies." She ignored him and sprinted back to the bench where she'd left her things, returning a few seconds later with a box of sandwiches and two cardboard cups balanced on a bottle of diet coke. She sat down next to him and offered him some of the scratch lunch.

"You're not going to win this argument. The sooner you eat, the sooner you get to go back to your… whatever you do to entertain yourself every hour of the day and night."  
He bit into his sandwich without complaint; most days, he refused to leave the Bunker to dine with the other campers, but he was obviously starving. It worried her. He seemed to catch her train of thought.

"I've got a job to do, Pipes. You know that."

"You've got a quest to complete, too. You're no good to us dead."

"Cheery soul today, aren't you?" Seeing the look on her face, he raised his hands slightly in surrender. "Okay, okay. Enough of that." He poured some coke into each of the two glasses and drank from one of them gratefully. Piper took hers and they ate in silence. When they'd finished, she put the box on the floor a couple of feet away. "Has Jason gotten around to asking you out yet?"

"Wait- what?" She stared at him like he'd sprouted Midas-style donkey ears.

"You heard."

"I- um… no. Not yet. I mean, er, no. No." She put a hand over her eyes and peered through her fingers at him, hoping she wasn't blushing. "Why are we having this conversation?" He laughed at how flustered she'd become.

"Well, he'd better step in quick – as Aphrodite head councillor and almost certainly the most gorgeous girl at camp, I daresay you're in high demand. Your old plans to die an old cat lady? Pretty much out of the window." She shoved his arm, almost sending him sprawling.

"Get lost, Valdez. Gods of Olympus, who's cruel now? Anyway," she dusted off her tattered jeans, "my old cat lady plan is doing just fine, thank you, mister." He sat up.

"Mister? Exactly how old am I, Pipes? More to the point, what year is this?"

"I think my housekeeper is immortal. She's a bad influence."

"I will never, ever get over the fact that you have a housekeeper. BBC Sherlock, much?" Piper looked up at him teasingly through her eyelashes.

"You said I'm a psychopath. I'm not a psychopath, I'm a highly functioning sociopath. Honestly, you should know the difference."

"You're evil, whatever you are. Begone, temptress!" He pushed her away, so that she was the one sprawled across the floor. She didn't even bother to get up, but lay there and stared at the rafters and supports so high above. After a couple of minutes, evidently bored, Leo stretched out and prodded her with his foot. She didn't respond, so he went quiet for a second. She listened, but couldn't hear anything. Then he lunged and tickled the sides of her ribs; a trick he had, to her dismay, learned in the Wilderness School. She shrieked and rolled away.

"Oh, no," she yelped, "don't you dare." As expected, he ignored her.

"Highly functioning sociopath, hey? We'll see how long that lasts..." The resulting chase might've lasted ten or fifteen minutes; she wasn't really counting. Being careful not to knock anything too deadly – hey, they were demigods; it was an occupational hazard – she ran for it.

Piper was a better runner than Leo, but he knew the terrain better, so she figured they were roughly evenly matched. Eventually, she made a beeline for the centre of the bunker and hid behind Festus, muttering, "sorry, boy," as she vaulted over the bronze head. She put her hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay, I yield – you win! Please don't tickle me again. Anyway," she continued in a reasonable tone, "maybe 'barely functioning' would be more appropriate; let's leave the clever stuff to you, mhmm?" He grinned breathlessly, sitting on the edge of Festus' stand.

"You ever plan to go into the evil mastermind business, Beauty Queen, you let me know."

"Together, we'd be unstoppable," she agreed. He smiled at that, and Piper took a seat beside him. "Speaking of which," she continued, "you got anything planned for tonight?"

"Errr, control panel mostly."

"This being the dubstep soundboard?"

"Partially."

"Well, I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow." He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off, "oh, shush, Leo, let me finish." Obediently, he shushed. "It's Capture-The-Flag tonight and you've got a choice, Mister Cabin-Nine-Head-Councillor."

"I have?"

"Mmm-hmm. There's two teams, right? Red and blue. Jason's thrown his lot in with the blues and so, incidentally, have the Ares kids – we're doomed – and your crew are allied with the reds. The Aphrodite Cabin haven't picked a side yet; so what's it to be? You and me against Jason, or Jason and I ganging up on you?"

"I noticed the word choice there, Pipes. I guess you and Team Barbie are a package deal, hmm?" She shrugged,

"Yeah, but they're getting quite dangerous now; I've been busy, you know. Lacy – the little girl with blonde pigtails and braces – she may look innocent, but the girl's a mini psychopath. She's addicted to crime drama and always guesses who the murderer is within, like, ten minutes of them finding the body. Yeah, before you ask, we like our crime drama in Cabin Ten. Some free advice: never bet against Lacy. Also, Mitchell's only thirteen, but he's a dab hand with that rapier of his. And the others aren't all bad; we just need to keep them away from the nymphs and any reflective surfaces. Don't worry; I'll threaten to ban make-up and cut bathroom time. They're easily manipulated." He shook his head.

"Poor child. Okay, it's a deal, McLean. Let's go beat up your boyfriend." She didn't deign that one with a reply, but they shook hands on the agreement. After a second, she folded her arms and shook her head, then stood up and dusted herself off. He did likewise.

"Anyway, I guess I'm going to have to love you and leave you; I left Mitchell in charge, but Drew might go into savage-Bratz mode – not a pretty sight – and eat him if I leave them for too long. We wouldn't want that; I'm quite fond of the boy, really. So... the game starts at seven. I'll come and find you at half six, okay? Then we'll go and try not to die, and afterwards you are _not_ coming back to the bunker – no, Leo, don't argue – you will go back to your cabin with the kids you are supposed to be leading – and yes, I know that they're actual people and actual people really aren't your thing, but they're all as crazy you as it's possible to be, so that's okay – and sleep in an actual, real bunk rather than some corner in here and then only come back here at a sensible time tomorrow; that means _after_ breakfast with the rest of the camp. Deal?"

"This is feeling rather one-sided, Pipes."

"Deal?" He sighed.

"You got it."

She grinned. "Excellent." She tackle-hugged him, completely without warning, and nearly knocked him over. He steadied himself, and then hugged her back. Then he held her out at arm's length.

"Now, what? No-one's dying (last I checked, anyway), and we've still got a few months until the end of the world." She laughed,

"You're my best friend, idiot. Can't I just be pleased to see you?"

"You're a fussy little critter, really, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little." She shrugged, "Anyway, I'll see you at half six, yeah?" She waited for his reply to the affirmative, then sprinted out of the door, pausing only to grab her bag and the lunch stuff.

_Meh, not sure about that ending... Ah, well._

_It's exam season at the minute, so part two might take a while. :(_

_When it does come, there'll be make-up, giant ants and Jason (a little bit, at least)._

_If you enjoyed this, let me know in the reviews. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it's so late; A-levels got in the way. Well, what else was it going to be? A social life? Please. XD_

_This was supposed to be only a two-shot, but I've been so busy and I figured that this bit worked as a chapter._

_The dedication this time is to another of my lovely Liper friends. She's called Abiigaee on Deviantart (go check out _dude you snore like a power saw_, then you'll understand) but calls herself Bichol on here. Such a beautiful mystery. I hope you enjoy it, my friend._

_To everyone reading this, thanks for your patience. But I suppose we're used to waiting in this fandom_. -_- The fandom that waited._ That's us right there._

_If you enjoy it, please drop a review. If you didn't, I'm sorry for the wasted time, and I'm open to constructive criticism._

_I OWN NOTHING._

_I'll shut up now._

xXx

Leo Valdez was losing his touch. He knew this because he didn't notice his best friend until she lunged from behind, putting her hands on his shoulders and shoving him towards the desk he'd been working at for the last – he glanced at his watch – four hours? Jeez. She positioned herself so she was leaning against him, her forearms on his shoulders. He adjusted a little (but she wasn't exactly heavy) then leant his head back, giving her his deluxe _and-what-pray-is-the-meaning-of-this-untimely-inte rruption?_ look. She smiled that beautiful smile which was half amusement, half exasperation; the one that reminded him so much of his Mom. But he tried not to linger on that: it only made him sad. "You really are an idiot, Leo." She said, gesturing with her wrists as she spoke, "a brilliant idiot, granted, but an idiot nonetheless."

"Ah-ha!" he grinned, waving his index finger at her face in an _I-told-you-so _fashion, "but you admit that I am brilliant." She rolled her eyes,

"No-one's denying it, honey."

"Excellent."

"Now, come on!" She continued, pulling him out of the chair, "Jason and the cream of the camp are going to be baying for our blood in half an hour; we need to be ready. Oh, and a present from Jake: leather armour. I've spent the last quarter of an hour trying to suss it and get mine on, but I think I've got it now. You've got some too. I told him I was coming to find you, so I said I'd bring it along."

Leo turned as she spoke. As she'd said, she was dressed in a leather breastplate, and the shoulder guards were stamped with the image of a dove in flight. As it was made up of a number of plates, it looked light, flexible and, although not exactly bulletproof, like it would offer some protection in a fight. In short, absolutely ideal for Piper. Although, unless the hard work was finally driving him to the point of hallucination, there was something that seemed a heck of a lot stranger than a teenaged girl in Grecian armour. "Pipes," he asked, "are you wearing... make-up?" He did a double-take, and sure enough, a ring of celestial-bronze-coloured glitter encircled her eyes, setting off that weird-but-beautiful kaleidoscope effect she had going on. She was also dressed up, which he didn't understand, with one of those translucent shirts – hers in an olive green – with the Pirates-of-the-Caribbean sleeves that seemed to be popular at present. Her skinny jeans, though, were normal; once black but worn down to grey. And her old combat boots hadn't gone anywhere either.

"I lost a bet with Drew and crew, but I got them on side for the game. See? All the pain and trouble I go through to get you a Capture-the-flag team. I hope you appreciate it."

"Appreciated. And you are looking rather lovely tonight, mi querida, I must say." As expected, she slapped his arm. "Ow," he complained, "See, with most girls, telling them they're pretty makes them happy. With you, it's a request for assisted suicide."

"Too right it is. Now, catch." She threw a mass of leather at him which, on closer inspection, turned out to be a piece of armour a lot like hers. He pulled it over his head, and she did up the straps before he could so much as lay a finger on them, muttering about the uselessness of him and men in general. Nothing much had changed, then.

"I'd defend myself and my gender, but it's hopeless, isn't it?"

"Mmmhmm. There," she said, stepping back and tilting her head in what he thought of as the _Aphrodite-grade-outfit-assessment-but-she'll-kill- me-if-I-call-it-that-aloud_ pose. "You might actually pass as a hero."

"Nah, we'd need Tristan-McLean-as-King-of-Sparta breastplates for that. But we'll do." She punched him in the ribs and asked,

"Armour work?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Great." She smirked, "I may need to punch you again. _Never_ speak of that movie in my presence. I'll have to kill you."

"I look forward to it. In the meantime, aren't we supposed to be out killing people?"

"Yep. You know the plan?"

"What plan?" She shook her head.

"Honestly, you're hopeless." The look on her face made him suspect they were going to end up with their heads mounted on spears over the Ares cabin, but he figured there wasn't much he could do to change her mind; she'd been scheming with his siblings, she told him, (seriously, it was practically betrayal) all afternoon. He shot her his best _Geronimo_ grin, snatched up a few supplies from a nearby workbench, stuffed them into his impossible-but-awesome tool belt and looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Come along, Pond."

xXx

"The awkward moment," Piper muttered, "when your Barbie-inspired siblings try to dress you up to get you killed and you end up the best-camouflaged in the company." Leo glanced across the clearing where they'd hastily assembled and realised that she was right; the campers' orange shirts and glittering bronze armour were hardly ninja-stealth-level. He looked down at his own khaki shirt and black jeans – the colour co-ordination was entirely co-incidental, he assured himself – and silently applauded his own genius, then smirked to himself. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he assured her. Chiron's voice put a stop to the chatter.

"Heroes! You know the aim, you know the rules, you know the alliances. Medics will be on-call, as usual, and the victors will be crowned when the game ends, sometime during the night. This is an evening exercise, and it will end late. The red team will now head off to their bases, and the blues may follow in ten minutes. Good luck."

Leo turned and his eyes met Piper's. Gods, that girl was too gorgeous for her own good. "Good to go?" She grinned as the first conch horn blew.

"Geronimo." Together, they sprinted into the dim forest.

When they practically crashed into Jake, Leo nearly jumped out of his armour. "What-the-actual-?" This was Jake's first Capture-The-Flag in a while, too; he'd only gotten rid of his crutches last week. Piper cut him off,

"Hey, Jake. You got cabins nine and ten sorted?"

"Yeah, we combined forces like you suggested. They're positioned around the base, and World War Three has not broken out yet. You guys ready to do your bit?" Leo caught Piper's _I'll-tell-you-in-a-sec_ look and stayed quiet. Was that his job now? He'd always wanted to be a metaphorical bit of portable furniture. _No offense, Buford._

"Yep," Piper said, and Leo grinned,

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm in."

"Great," his brother pointed to what looked like a random bit of foliage, "that way, and loop back round. We're sending Nyssa and Kayla and a few others out as a decoy attack, but we're really depending on you." They turned, "Oh, and you two?"

"Yeah?"

"Jason's headed in a similar direction, if you get what I'm saying."

"Right."

xXx

Piper was really touchy about her Cherokee heritage, but Leo would never work out why. She had a certain grace to her movements, and was as silent as a shadow in the forests like this. Although he had been invited to live with Piper during the holidays which had passed, oh, weeks ago now, he'd never actually seen her house. Thanks, _Tía_. Really. What he _did_ know, however, was that her California mansion – she didn't like to call it that, but the poor girl suffered from delusions of normality – was, like, 10 miles away from the nearest civilisation and surrounded by woodland which she'd spent hours exploring as a little girl. It had made her better at the whole _Sacagawea _thing; and, yes, he's spent days committing that name to memory just to tease her with. In comparison, he felt noisy and out of place.

Piper's voice brought him back to reality, "you didn't miss much, you know; we're just spearheading an attack on the enemy base. We're one of several pairs that have been sent out, mostly as decoys. I'm fast; you're, um, flashy."

"_Chíca, _I invented flashy. I take it I'm the distraction, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"_Da-da-da, _I'm dead. Nice knowing you, Pipes." She smirked.

"Ah, you'll be fine. We're taking the most convoluted route, though, so we've got to hurry."

xXx

_Part 3 is in construction, and I'm really sorry it's taking so long. Thanks for sticking with me, guys. I hope you like it._

_ If so, please review. It means so much to us writers._

_Thank you. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.**

**This is taking so long and I am very, very sorry. I think there's just one part to go.**

**It's not my best work, but it's Liper (b)romance, so you can't go too far wrong, right?**

**Anyway, if you review, I will legitimately love you forever.**

**I hope you like it. :)**

If Piper hadn't grabbed his arm, Leo would probably have died. He blamed the ADHD. Deadly monster-infested woods? Deadly-dull classes? As far as vanishing into Leo World was concerned, there seemed to be little difference. Piper's fingers felt cold, as ever, but not unpleasantly so. Her voice, like her breathing, was suddenly quick and nervous. "You hear that?"

"Hear wha-?" He didn't even finish the phrase before some buried instinct made him shove her, stumbling, behind a heap of rocks and follow suit. They pressed their backs against the cold stone as something scuttled past. _Scuttled?_ Leo thought, _great. _Wasn't a bunch of usually-friendly-but-now-potentially-bloodthirsty demigods bad enough? Beside him, Piper shifted as she readied her dagger. She seemed to have had a similar thought, and it wasn't a happy one; the scuttling sounded like somethings, not something.

Naturally, they couldn't just stroll through the woods like a perfectly innocent pair of teenaged demigods. That would be too easy. Leo kept his voice soft, barely above a murmur, "any idea what we're dealing with?"

"Wait here."

"What? Pipes, what're you-?" Before he'd finished, she crept along the edge of the rocks and peered around, and her sharp intake of breath made him wince.

Those things were probably plenty scary.

They'd almost certainly heard the sound.

Sure enough, Piper yelped and skittered back as a black, shiny _something_ lunged at her. On instinct, Leo pulled her out of the way and sent a bolt of fire streaking over her shoulder, probably singeing her hair (_sorry,_ he thought) on the way past. It wasn't enough to kill the thing, but it made Leo the major target. Which, weirdly enough, had been his intention.

Piper had that effect on him sometimes.

_I take it I'm the distraction, yeah? _They could use that now, he realized. _Think, don't panic. You've faced worse than this._

In all of his life as a demigod, he'd never been faced with a giant ant before. Piper edged out of the creature's line of sight while it was otherwise engaged hissing at Leo. It spat at him and he recoiled, just as a streak of brown, green and bronze flashed from behind a tree, skidding low and out of his line of vision.

A few seconds later, there was a high-pitched squeal from the creature and Leo saw that Piper had jammed her dagger hilt-deep into a chink in its lower-exoskeleton before scrambling back out of the way, and the two of them were suddenly spattered with yellow monster-powder.

_Lovely._

Piper looked up and smiled. The kind of _oh-look-we-survived-I-love-it-when-we-do-that _smile. With little scratches on her face, sticks in her hair and speckled with dead-ant-dust, she still looked pretty. _Don't get distracted again, _he thought, _you'll get the pair of you killed. _"You ever seen a giant ant before, Pipes?" She grinned,

"What, in person? Yeah, sure. California's _crawling _with the things," then looked thoughtful, "in seriousness, though, I think Annabeth mentioned them once. Something beginning with M... Mirra? Myra? Something like that." She looked up, "Hey, Leo, you okay?"

Leo had stopped listening to her a couple of phrases in. He winced, glancing down at his arm, then looked away quickly. Being a fire-user, Leo had never really understood what it felt like to burn.

That changed fast.

He'd moved back, so there were only a few specks of acid on his arm, but they'd turned from dark circles to ragged holes. The flesh beneath was blistered and somewhere between stinging with a pain that reminded him of a particularly awful foster-mother who used to sink her wicked fingernails into his arms if he angered her - he still had some tiny crescent-shaped scars on his shoulders - and a horrible numbing sensation. When he tried to move his fingers, the motion was out-of-sync and lethargic, which worried him, since the splashes were so tiny. He didn't notice what Piper was doing until she took hold of his hand, tangling her fingers through his.

_Funny thing to do._

With a brisk air of certainty, she pulled his sleeve back and let a few drops of nectar fall on to the burns, and they closed off quickly enough. She let go and stowed the hip-flask in her back pocket again. She was always so _organised_. She looked up. "Better?" He nodded; his fingers still weren't moving quite right, but it was an improvement on a few seconds ago, so he figured that was okay.

"Thanks, Pipes."

"Don't mention it." She grinned suddenly. "Gods, Leo. The things we get up to... giant-ant-wrangling?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson." They laughed, but Piper's smile clouded over a little.

"Anyway, we really should get out of here." Leo was slow on the uptake, and she rolled her eyes. "You ever see an ant by itself, Leo? Don't get me wrong: if I had to choose one person to face a swarm of man-eating insects with, it'd be you. But I'd rather not bother if it's all the same to you." It took a couple of seconds to process the unexpected compliment, and it caught him off guard. Leo asked, "where were we supposed to be going, again? Jake never said anything about-"

"Whatever the heck that was." She finished, "Yeah, some prior warning would've been nice. Do you reckon something went wrong?" Leo didn't answer. He didn't like to think what scale of _wrong_ they could be talking about here. He'd been assured that serious injury was rare, but still... He really hoped that he was imaging the rustling a few hundred feet away. He pointed in the opposite direction.

"That way's looking really good right now." She nodded, and they wordlessly sprinted towards - they hoped - the enemy base they were supposed to be attacking. Leo sighed internally; _fine job we're making of that._


	4. Chapter 4

**I LIED.**

**I'm sorry that A) it took so long and B) it's not finished yet. **

**It's the middle of the Summer Holidays, but I'm still crippled by School Stress and therefore writers' block. It's tragic, really. I'm going on Holiday next week, so I wanted to get this up before I went, and just before a PoV swap seemed an okay way to end.**

**So, yeah. I hope you're not bored of waiting... I will finish it soon! I will! I will! **determination****

**I'm treading the fine line of Liper (b)romance, trying to please both sets of shippers; it's not easy. I hope it works.**

**Reviews make me so happy, you have NO IDEA. They make my day like nothing else seems to be able to. I haven't been able to thank you all personally, so I'll do it now. THANK YOU to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has read/reviewed this story.**

**I love you all.**

**I hope this is enjoyable; it's for you guys after all. :)**

The following walk through the woods seemed, to Leo, to take a small eternity. Okay, so if he had to spend forever in the company of one person, Piper would be pretty high on the list, but still.

Where were the bloodthirsty masses of enraged demigods that they'd been promised?

Piper was both a help and a hindrance as they made their way through the trees; she strode along with a gait somewhere between a walk and a run, covering ground much more quickly than Leo could - he wondered if it was a Cherokee thing – and he was left to stumble along behind. However, he figured that the quicker they found something, the better, so he didn't complain.

After a while, she seemed to notice that he was getting left behind. "You doing okay back there, slowcoach?" Breathing hard, he did his best _I'm-going-to-annoy-you-now-and-there's-nothing-you -can-do-to-stop-me-so-there_ grin.

"I'm fine. We're not all... Amazonian Braves... like you... you know."

"Oh, why do I put up with you?"

" Search me. Where is everyone?" She finally stopped – _hallelujah_ – and said,

"I... don't actually know."

"Promising. So much for the plan."

"Oh, shut up. They can't be far away."

"Meaning we're lost."

"Reassessing the direction, perhaps, but not lost." Leo folded his arms in semi-annoyance.

"It's a camp-full of bright orange teenagers with blue and red feathers on top!" Leo and Piper had never been given helmets; instead, they had coloured rags tied around their wrists. "How hard can they be to f-" Piper cut him off without a word; he saw her stiffen and knew to be silent. She reached up and brushed her still-slightly-curly hair behind her ear in an unmistakable gesture: _listen_. He did so and, sure enough, he heard a branch crack a few metres away, followed by the cursing of a disgruntled dryad.

("You silly demigods and your silly games...")

_Demigods._

Leo wasn't sure whether to be afraid or excited; the strange sensation in his chest was exacerbated when he recognised the demigod in question. _Bloody marvellous,_ he thought, _our first enemy demigod and it's only the son of freaking Zeus - Jupiter - whatever. _Talk about a baptism of fire.

As soon as the pair of them had heard the initial _crack_, they'd hidden themselves behind adjacent trees. Jason didn't spot them immediately, but Leo knew from experience that the guy wasn't stupid. They needed a plan. Fast.

Before the son of Hephaestus could come up with something suitably brilliant, Piper strolled out from her hiding place with a sunny smile on her face, her bronze eyeliner glimmering in what little light dappled through the trees. Despite her somewhat deflated hair and the loam- and grass-stains on her jeans, she looked stunning.

Leo just had time to give her a _what-in-Hades-are-you-doing-you-crazy-woman?_ look before she stepped into Jason's line of sight and out of his. The sharp intake of breath that followed led him to believe that Jason was as stunned as he was. "Hey, Jace," _Jace? _Sorcery was definitely involved. Her voice was as sweet as honey, rich and mellifluous in tone. Leo thought, _uh-oh_; he knew charmspeak when he heard it. He felt a stab of sympathy for his taller friend. He was male, distractible and _very_ into Piper. _Oh, come on! _Leo might've been clueless, but not that clueless. The sooner they just gave up and started dating already, the better. Their we're-not-dating-but-unintentionally-flirting-cons tantly thing was really starting to annoy him. He felt like one of the creepy fangirls in Piper's cabin. _Just kiss already! _

He wanted them happy. Okay, _her _happy.

Even if it meant losing her for good.

_Whoa, boy,_ he scolded himself, _it's not like you had any claim to her in the first place_. _Enough of that._ They had a game to win.

He crept away, carefully ignoring Piper's voice. She didn't seem to be risking orders yet, just small talk. Her laughter rang out and the very forest seemed to brighten around her.

("Yeah, I seem to be alone. I guess I must've lost Leo at some point. Very careless of me, that.")

He knew what he had to do; Piper, swift and agile, needed a clear shot at the flag. He needed to give it to her. But how was a skinny son of Hephaestus supposed to occupy Jason _watch-me-fly-I-am-the-eagle-that-soars _Grace, pray-whatsisface of the great and almighty Roman something-or-other? Technology was his only advantage, but there was a distinct lack of it out here. Piper was in her element, he wasn't. _All the more reason to free her up to get the flag._ He sure as heck couldn't do what she was doing - _scary thought_ - and even she couldn't keep Jason talking forever. He jogged down a leafy bank and found himself in a little clearing, scarred with jagged trenches and potholes, as if from long-forgotten combat exercises.

The thing about Leo's mind was that it ran like a massive Wallace-and-Gromit contraption. Fast and slow and logically and illogically and clicking and whirring and humming; all kinds of craziness swirled around in there. When ideas came, they were slippery and random and impossible but, hey, he was still alive, right? So when a madcap idea slithered to the surface of his ADHD mind, he didn't question it. He rummaged in his tool-belt and pulled out what he needed.

Five minutes later, it was complete. Well, -ish. He figured it was suicide to suppose that it would hold, but he reckoned that Piper only needed about ten minutes to grab the flag and get a good enough head start to have a fair chance of success. That and keep the regular guards at bay, too; he reckoned they couldn't be more than a hundred yards or so away, now.

_Cake._

They'd already decided on a signal, even though the roles were reversed. He whistled softly (the Doctor Who theme, of course) and a few minutes later was rewarded with a break in the babble of cheery, one-sided chatter from Piper and the spellbound Jason.

"Allons-y."

Jason – in Piper's words: _philistine_ – wouldn't get it, even if he could think straight. Camp Roman was great for Military training, advanced leadership, whatever, but their BBC coverage was awful.

And now, there was nothing for Leo to do but run and wait. He heard Piper leading Jason to the trap; a pretty basic pitfall over one of the smaller but deeper crevices, like a giant stab wound. Escape would require either hacking through the celestial bronze netting (a scrap which he'd stowed in his tool-belt and forgotten to return) or disentangling the knots, which, for a non-Leo person, would take time. Hopefully, it would hold for a little while. He hadn't bothered to disguise it, trusting in Piper's powers of persuasion.

A few moments later, he was rewarded by a clatter and a yelp, but he wasn't done yet. Piper caught up with him, slightly breathless from the sprint.

"That was maybe just a little evil," he told her, "but quite clever, really. What did you..?"

She blushed, "just made him dozy. He barely flinched when we dropped him down that hole. But the charmspeak-"

"Won't last forever," he finished, "yeah, I know. Look over there." They crept over an embankment lined with wooden spikes - _who are these people? The heirs of Vlad the Impaler? _- and crouched down to observe. Piper inhaled sharply when she saw the six guards patrolling around the flag. Not as many as there could have been – the rest of the team had obviously done what they needed to – but still plenty enough to be an obstacle. _So near, yet so far._

"My turn to be the evil genius. You want flashy? You can have it, _mi querida._ But whatever happens, remember that I know what I'm doing. You trust me, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Good girl. Wait 'til they're distracted; I'll see you after the game."

"What?" She hissed as loudly as she dared, but the guards were too far away to hear anyway, "Leo-"

But he was already gone, vanishing into the undergrowth to her right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two updates in quick succession is my apology for my slow progress. LadyRiverwolf has (temporarily) got her inspiration back!**

**I have strayed back into Piper's PoV. Tah Dah!**

**There will be a short Jasper interlude in this chapter (I ship them, okay? Haters gonna hate) but bear with me, Liper-shippers; it is for a greater purpose of Liper-shipping which will follow in the next (and hopefully last – jeez, this thing was only meant to be a two-shot) chapter.**

**The poem referenced is Flag by John Agard. I studied it at school, too. :)**

**The romantic bit, although short, was **_**freaking **_**hard. Being asexual, it's really not my thing and this is the **_**first time**_** I have ever even **_**dared**_** to try it. So, yeah. **half-hearted confetti** **

**I hope you enjoy this, thanks for sticking with me and, um, yeah.**

****massive e-hug****

Piper huffed in exasperation. _That boy. _He was utterly insufferable. She loved him dearly, but still.

"_...whatever happens...you trust me, right?..."_

She did not like the sound of that in the slightest. She trusted him with her life, for sure, but still. Even Cabin glory and all the perks that came with it weren't worth dying for.

_Oh, shut it, Pipes, _she told herself, _you're being irrational now._ Lately, that seemed to be happening a lot. Something about that quest had shaken her up pretty badly, and Leo hadn't gotten away from it – well, life in general, actually – unscathed either. If they couldn't handle a relatively minor errand to fetch the queen of the gods, how could they face the so-called Second Great Prophesy? A war against a whole army of ancient giants? She tried not to dwell on it; if she thought about it too hard, she'd panic. Then she'd be no good to man nor beast, as her housekeeper, Alma, would have said. Instead, she thought about how she and Leo were handling their first Capture-the-Flag. She was pretty impressed, all told, but she felt awful about what she'd done to Jason... how his eyes had turned glassy, and she'd led him into a trap. It had been so painfully _easy_; he'd been caught completely off-guard. He'd be recovering now, coming to his senses trapped alone in a ditch.

She shuddered and switched her focus back to the Royal Blue flag that hung like a Roman standard, proud and dignified. It made her think of a poem she'd studied in class last year; "it's just a piece of cloth that brings a nation to its knees." _Anyway, _she told herself, _it's not like we could've actually done him any harm. He could kill the pair of us in a heartbeat if he so wished._

Maybe there was still a little part of her that feared his association with Rome; an Empire she'd been taught to both respect and despise. Her ancestry lay with the Scottish Clan McLean, descended from the Celts – sworn enemies of Rome – and the Cherokee, well. As far as she knew, they'd never come into contact with the Romans, but she could imagine what would've happened if they had. Add to that her Greek Mom... she couldn't be more un-Roman if she tried.

Urrgh, ADHD wasn't always fun. She wondered how Leo managed; hers was barely diagnosable compared to his, and it still drove her to distraction.

That was, what? Two minutes gone? Before she could spiral back down into her rabbit hole of doubt and worry, one of the guards – she recognised a young daughter of Apollo (maybe eleven years old) she'd seen around Camp recently, red hair shimmering where it slithered from underneath her helmet – who shouted, "Look! Over there!" Piper looked and had to swallow back a knot of thick, black fear that coiled in the back of her throat.

"_...I know what I'm doing..."_

"I hope you're right, Leo," she muttered to the empty air; all but the little Apollo girl ran to her right in a panic, shouting orders to the each other.

She watched through the gaps in the trees as a plume of white-grey smoke swirled, serpent-like, into the sky.

A snap decision needed to be made. Trust that Leo hadn't, in fact, started a forest fire and run for the flag – she could take down the girl, she was sure – or follow the guards and find out what in the name of sanity was going on.

There wasn't really a choice to be made; she leapt down and kicked the already stunned younger girl – a relative newbie, not experienced enough to expect anything - in the back, knocking her face down in the dirt (Piper had attended dance lessons once upon a time, and they'd left her light on her feet, agile and able to deliver a high and hard kick when she wished to), completely winded. The Aphrodite head-councillor allowed herself another moment to waste in order to take a cord from the flagpole to bind the girl's wrists and then tied her shoelaces together, too. Apollo kids were fast, and Piper wasn't sure that she could outrun this one.

"Sorry," she muttered as she stepped over the redhead to take the cloth, excitement welling inside her.

Piper turned, the flag scrunched up in her fist, and ran.

xXx

The forest zipped past in a blur, and Piper revelled in the sensation of the wind streaming through her hair. She and Leo had taken a long loop around, hoping to avoid the other team, but now she just ran straight for their home base. Anyway, she wanted to avoid a footrace with the Myrmekes – _that's what they're called_, she remembered – if she possibly could. No-one bothered her until she was nearly back, and starting to stagger. She could see their flagpole, just a few yards away.

And no flag. _That's not good_, she thought. _Where..?_

If it hadn't reached the other base yet, they could still win this. All at once, things went even more badly wrong. A rush of air swirled around her ankles and she hit the ground, the blue flag trailing in the loam as her fingers carved a tiny set of trenches. She turned over and looked up.

_Jason,_ she thought, with a kind of hyperactive giggliness brought on by exhaustion, _how nice you could join us, honey._ He made a grab for the flag, but he was almost as worn out as she was and she just managed to scrabble away. There had to be some more guards around, anyone at all. She cried out – not an actual word, just a long vowel sound – and someone called her name in response: Nyssa, Leo's half-sister. She grabbed Jason's arm and hauled herself upright (he seemed too surprised by the unorthodox move to react at once) and threw the flag. It seemed to hang in the air for a moment, flashing kingfisher-blue, before Nyssa snatched it, dashed the extra few feet towards the base and slammed it down; game over. A conch horn blew somewhere. _Does that mean that we win? _Piper's chest heaved and all the adrenaline that had sustained her through the evening vanished, leaving her drained and dizzy, honestly struggling to stay standing.

She didn't really register what was going on around her until Jason slipped and arm around her shoulders; she leaned against him gratefully before she remembered that they'd been trying to beat each other up a couple of minutes before. He looked down at her – he was at least a head taller, if not more, although she hadn't actually measured – and their eyes met. He smiled, and for the millionth time her eyes were drawn to the tiny silver scar on his upper lip. "You doing okay there, Pipes? You're not going to keel over or anything, are you?"

"I... don't think... so," she managed, "just... catch my breath." He nodded, and she could feel his good-natured half-laugh. She smirked internally and elbowed his solid chest, _just because we weren't all trained from infancy..._ She could probably punch him repeatedly and still not manage to knock him over. In that respect, he was rather like her Dad.

Once she'd recovered somewhat, Piper looked around and realised that the relatively empty base was quickly filling up. Chiron cantered into the centre of the roughly arranged circle. She cast her eyes around the assembled campers, looking for familiar faces. Clarisse looked furious, and a second glance at the triumphant Nyssa revealed scratches, bruises and a nasty cut across her ribs; Lamer, Clarisse's spear, was bloodied at the tip. _Oh, Nyssa, you have been busy._ Will Solace appeared with the red flag dangling from his clenched fist – so it hadn't crossed the line after all. Mitchell and Lacy stood together, as ever, and the latter jumped up and down in excitement. Mitchell rolled his eyes and chuckled, his hand on her shoulder to anchor her to the ground. She scanned the crowd for Leo and, sure enough, there he was, still holding a bunch of smouldering leafy green branches that were throwing off smoke like nobody's business – so _that_ was how he'd done it. _Neatly done, you clever boy. _He tossed them in the nearby stream where they were extinguished with a slight sizzle. He caught her eye and grinned, mouthing the words, _That's my girl_. She returned the smile. He raised an eyebrow at Jason's arm around her and she ducked away, a little embarrassed. Finally, she glanced anxiously around for the little Apollo girl. She seemed unharmed, and smiled - maybe looking a little abashed for being caught out so easily - revealing a mouthful of braces; Piper was fondly reminded of Lacy.

Chiron cleared his throat and addressed the crowd. "You have done well, especially our newer Campers." Nyssa offered Piper the captured blue flag and she looked back like, _what? _Nyssa nodded towards Chiron and Piper shuffled forwards, a little nervously, and handed it to the centaur, who held it up. The red team cheered, and even the blues managed some gracious applause. Chiron waited for the cacophony to die down before continuing, "congratulations to the Reds, and I'm sure that you will enjoy the benefits of reduced chores until the next game in a few weeks' time." The cheering started up again, "and!" He brought the crowd back to attention, "it is late, and curfew falls in half an hour. I wish you all a pleasant sleep and will see you in the morning for breakfast, as usual. You are dismissed!" Slowly, the campers drifted away, and Jason led Piper a little deeper into the trees.

xXx

"I'm sorry," she told him, nervously twisting the bronze ring that gleamed on her middle finger. It had actually been a gift from Leo who'd "knocked it together" from some of the scrap Festus-metal "for old time's sake". She always wore it, although some days she preferred to have it strung on a cord around her neck. Leo and Jason were always so _good_ to her; she couldn't help but wonder what she'd done to deserve friends like them.

Jason looked a little bemused. "What, for beating me in the War Games? A little embarrassing, perhaps, but nothing I can't handle. Anyway, I am suitably impressed by the pair of you."

"War Games? I've never heard them called that before."

"I, um," he looked slightly troubled, but it didn't last for long, "I think we might've had something similar, you know, back h- at the Roman Camp." She noticed his almost-reference to 'home', and wondered why he'd tried to hide it. Was he trying not to alienate her? Usually, she didn't have any trouble reading people – she figured empathy was an Aphrodite power – but she couldn't quite tell what he was getting at.

"Not that," she said, reverting back to the original topic, "the way I- you know,"

"The charmspeak?" He might've blushed, just a little, "Piper, that was nothing short of brilliant! I'm sure Leo told you the same thing at the time, too." He had, but she wasn't saying that.

"It was awful, like something Medea would do. And you can't even say I was using it for a good cause."

"As soon as we opted to be on opposite sides – stupid idea on my part, by the way – we became temporary enemies; you were perfectly within your rights. Theoretically, I could have knocked you out cold with my sword-hilt and nobody would've batted an eyelid." He shrugged, "anyway, my electrocuting people and causing mini hurricanes is like something my Dad would do while he was destroying a city. That doesn't mean that every time I do something, I intend to partake in mass-slaughter, right?" She gestured agreement. He took her hand, which kind of surprised her. But she wasn't complaining. "Moreover, do I look hurt to you?" She shook her head obediently. "I rest my case; no harm done, okay?"

"Okay."

"There is one condition, though." She looked up, and their eyes met for the second time that evening. In the dusky light, his clear blue eyes looked deeper, darker, richer. She found herself suddenly nervous and feeling ever so slightly skittish.

"What kind of condition?"

"When it matters, we're on the same side, alright? We're a team, you and me." She smiled slowly.

"Absolutely." They were all but nose-to-nose, and she would never quite work out whether she kissed him or he kissed her, but it was a thousand times better than she had imagined in her mist-woven memories.

She barely registered the slight movement in the foliage to her left as a lone figure fled the scene.

**In the next chapter, you get Leo and Liper back, honest. Sorry if you're not a Jasper-shipper; it was necessary, I promise.**

**P.S. That was my first ever kiss (scene). I hope it wasn't too awful. **smiles hopefully****

**Reviews are appreciated like Sally's blue cookies are appreciated.**

**That's a lot of appreciation. **

**Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

_This is it._

_It's over._

_It's done._

_I think._

_Anyway, I'd just like to say a massive thank you to __**absolutely every single one of you guys**__ because you've stuck with me through 5 (now 6) chapters of my mangling of poor Uncle Rick's amazing characters. Sorry, Uncle Rick. It's my first multi-chapter story, and updates have been irregular, the writing unpracticed._

_I don't know how you put up with me, I really don't._

_You guys make me so happy, whether you review/favourite on here or talk on the Percy Jackson fanclub Facebook page or even just click on the title with that gorgeous fanart next to it._

_This isn't just mine, it's __**yours**__. If you've enjoyed this, I've done my job. _

_And that makes me unbelievably happy._

_**Thank you.**_

Leo was going to do exactly as he was told. There wasn't really much else he could do, after all. Okay, okay, so he'd followed them. He hadn't expected that little scene but, thinking about it, it should have been kind of obvious from the way they were acting beforehand. He thought 'stalking' was maybe too strong a term, but it was true that he'd waited until they seemed suitably... distracted to make his escape, and now he headed back to his own Cabin; even though he doubted that Piper would be coming back to the bunker - she had much more interesting means than him to occupy her time, now - he wanted to do as she'd told him to.

He didn't get why he was so upset. Gods, he'd been the one trying to persuade Jason to just ask her out already. _You like her, she likes you. Obvious, much?_

Their memories of the Wilderness school - the real ones - were still hazy, but even now the difference between the two of them was significant: Piper had lost something - it showed every time she was around Jason - but he'd gained something he hadn't had since his Mom died: someone who cared. He'd gone from being eternal third wheel, perhaps earning one of those beautiful smiles if he did really well one day but mostly just being a nuisance, to having a real friend; the days at the Wilderness School had been the happiest since his Mom died, and that wasn't down to Coach Hedge. Now, in what seemed to Leo an unnecessarily cruel twist of fate, he'd lost it all over again.

He liked Jason, didn't even want to take his place, (date Piper? He'd never met a girl kinder or more beautiful, but the idea seemed strange; he couldn't picture it) but he knew from experience that he'd always take second place from now on. _What else is new?_ He thought, failing to dampen down his growing sense of bitterness. He kept walking, keeping his pace quick and disregarding the sticks that he broke underfoot. In all honesty, he didn't really care if he brought down all the monsters in the woods on his head; it'd be a distraction, at least.

The distraction came, but not in the manner that he'd been expecting. He found himself sprawled on the ground, much like that afternoon in the bunker, as something was deliberately hooked around his ankle. A familiar figure with long, brown hair (she'd been letting it grow out a bit), now more wavy than curly, and still wearing that pretty chiffon shirt, albeit a bit ragged now, stared down at him with her arms folded. "And where do you think you're going, Mister?"

"Um, bed," he suggested, propping himself up on his elbows, "you know, like you told me to. Remember?"

"Not in that state, you're not." Piper looked a bit annoyed, a bit distracted and quite a lot worried, he thought. He sighed,

"_Now_ what have I done? If this is about the fire…"

"It's not about the fire, although that was a bit brilliant. Green wood? Excellent idea." She offered him a hand and, after a moment's _what-the-heck-is-this-girl-playing-at?_ hesitation, he took it and allowed her to haul him upright. "What's wrong, Leo?"

"Well, throwing me on the floor was totally uncalled for…" She shoved his arm,

"Not that. What's _really _wrong?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing's wrong." Her reply was sing-song and a little teasing,

"I don't believe you." He smiled halfheartedly in a vague attempt to placate her, but it didn't seem to work.

"Where's Jason?" He asked finally, and her expression changed so suddenly that she could have been a mime artist. All at once, she looked confused and a little uneasy.

"Why would you..?" Comprehension dawned, "oh, it was you!"

"It's not as bad as it sounds," he told her hastily, "I came looking for you, you were otherwise engaged and, um, yeah. I waited for an opportune moment to make my escape." His expression must've been pretty good, because she almost smiled.

"You're ridiculous."

"Good thing or bad thing?"

"Great thing." He grinned,

"Well, someone's in a good mood tonight. Must be luuuuurve…"

"I'll throw you on the floor again," she threatened, "I will." He ignored her,

"_Piper and Jason, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N- _ow!" She trod on his foot, hard. In combat boots, no less.

"Why do you put up with me?" he echoed her earlier remark, "Heck, no. Why do _I_ put up with _you_? Psycho lady."

"You love me really," she told him.

"If you say so," then he noticed something glittering on her finger, "hey, you've still got it!"

"Don't sound so surprised." She twisted the ring, running her finger over the circuit-board-green dove embedded in the band of bronze as she stared thoughtfully at it, "anyway, you're not very observant, are you? I've only been wearing it every day for about a month. My cabin-mates protest that it clashes horribly with my silver charm-bracelet and orange shirt, but I don't care. In fact, I do care; I like it even more…" Leo had gotten distracted again; he watched as a single, stubborn curl tumbled forward over her eyes; it must've been protected by the rest of her hair or something, because it had barely straightened at all. Knowing that it was probably his last chance, like, ever, he allowed himself the luxury of brushing it aside with his fingertips. She looked up through her eyelashes without tilting her head back - it made her eyes look huge – and smiled fondly. Then, quite suddenly, she dipped her hand into his toolbelt, pulling out an old-fashioned pocket watch (being so old, it sometimes spat out antiques) and ignoring his protests. "I'm a hardened car thief and juvenile delinquent; I maintain the right to partake in petty theft." She stepped back and checked the face; her expression said, _uh-oh_. Leo sighed.

"Now what have we done?"

"Jason had the right idea - left early. Curfew fell quarter of an hour ago. We're toast."

"I… can't toast," Piper swatted his arm, "and it can't be that bad, surely," she spluttered,

"Have you ever even _seen_ the cleaning harpies? When I think of heroic deaths, being torn apart by pscho chicken ladies armed with Dettol doesn't really make the list."

"Terrible stuff, Dettol. Stings like crazy."

"I'm glad you understand." She smiled wickedly, like she used to at the Wilderness School, and he said,

"You look like a woman on a mission; come on, what's the big idea?"

"An armed escort may be required to get past them; care to aid a damsel in distress?"

"If you can find me a damsel; she'd probably need saving from you." She gasped in mock-horror,

"I'll get you for that."

"Of course you will," he agreed, "anyway, wouldn't it be easier to stay in Bunker Nine? They don't patrol there." She wagged her finger at him, poking the centre of his chest.

"Don't even _think _about it." She reminded him, "anyway, you did promise."

"I did?"

"_Yes._" He knew better than to argue. He guessed they were a couple of hundred feet from the tree fringe, though Piper would probably know better; she liked the woods. "So, how're we getting through without getting caught?"

"Run for it?" She started making her way towards camp, and he laughed and followed.

"You always have the best plans," she grinned,

"Well, you got a better idea?"

"Nope. What's the point, anyway? _We plan, we get there and all Hell breaks loose._"

"Oh, Leo," she said with mock-pride, "I've taught you so well." It was getting late and the moonlight caught what was left of her eyeliner, highlighting the amusement that glittered in those gorgeous colour-shifting eyes; he thought, _yeah, that's what it's all about._ Making her smile was worth anything that life, Hera, Gaia, pretty much anyone or anything could throw at him. She paused to wave her hand in front of his eyes, "Earth to Leo? Anyone there?" He blinked,

"Mmhmm? We were charging the cabins or something stupid, right?"

"Always." Suddenly she looked young and mischievous, like a little girl running raids on the kitchen in the middle of the night. All at once, she grabbed his wrist and set off running, practically dragging him along behind. If anyone had been awake to notice, they'd have seen two kids stumbling along, laughing as quietly as they could. The two figures parted with a whispered, "See you tomorrow, yeah?"

"You got it, Beauty Queen."


End file.
